Anger over delay for rape victim

An alleged rape victim could not wash for 24 hours because police could not find a doctor to examine her, an MSP revealed yesterday.

Politicians and women's support groups said the wait was unacceptable. They called for an inquiry to ensure the incident was not repeated.

The young woman was attacked in Ross-shire, near Inverness, three weeks ago, but the Northern Constabulary could not find a suitable doctor on the same day. She was told not to shower or wash in case forensic evidence was lost.

Mary Scanlon, the Tory MSP, said she was shocked by such treatment. "The female instinct would be just to get as clean as possible after such a terrible thing happening to her.

"I find it totally chilling and unacceptable that a victim of rape was made to wait for all of that time to be seen by doctors. The delay would have made a stressful situation even worse."

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It seemed "the police were not given the support of the medical people. I just think something went very tragically wrong with the system."

Mrs Scanlon has tabled a parliamentary question to Jim Wallace, the Justice Minister, asking him to outline the recommended waiting time for a medical examination in a case of violent crime.

She said: "The Government should now set a target time in which police surgeons must respond to victims of crime and particularly the crime of rape."

A police spokesman said every effort was made to keep waiting times to a minimum. The system was under review. Ramsay McGhee, an Assistant Chief Constable, said: "The force has been experiencing difficulty in securing the services of doctors to carry out police surgeon work. The force does not employ its own doctors and relies on the services of GPs who have worked well with the force over the years.

"However, it should be understood that in terms of forensic medicine, not all GPs have the requisite training."